MONROVIA (KABC) — In Monrovia, the grounds at Maryknoll Sister’s retirement home is becoming a water saving oasis. The nuns at Maryknoll decide to get rid of their six acres of grass. The move is saving water during Southern California’s ongoing drought.

“The cry for healing is something we are also responding to.” Sister Arlene Trant, Coordinator Maryknoll Sisters retirement residence.

The sisters are collaborating with the water conservation group Grow Monrovia. Leigh Adams, a professional landscaper, has been helping the nuns remove the grass and replace it will lasagna mulch, a layering technique that involves cardboard and wood chips that attract fungi, which in turn helps stimulate the soil.

“We’re adding carbon to the soil; carbon in the soil means water in the soil. Water in the soil means life,” said Adams.

Sister Arlene says the change has been dramatic. “What we found is the gophers and the skunks love this place. They dig to get the earth. This was dry before but because we did the mulching, it has turned into soil. So it’s bringing forth what we wanted it to do. What grass could never do-keep the ground moist.”

Todd Siefke is a volunteer building a tree nursery on the property. He’s in school studying landscape architecture.

“Now I have the tools to enact change. It’s been fun to take this passion and apply it,” said Siefke.

The nuns have 20,000 square feet of land and they plan to use in climate conscious ways.

“We are hoping to expand later step by step and continue this energy that it’s obviously calling us too,” said Sister Arlene.

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Angelenos are struggling to keep their lawns green in the midst of yet another historic drought, with water use mandates becoming more and more strict.

Transforming your yard into drought tolerant landscaping involves ripping out the existing grass lawn and replacing it with gravel or crushed granite, along with adding native elements that don’t need much water to survive, like succulents. The plants are usually watered with a simple drip irrigation system running under the gravel, using as little water as possible to keep the plants healthy. So little water is used, in fact, the savings could add up.

“You’ll save anywhere from hundreds to honestly thousands of dollars on water a year,” Cody Simpson, the Chief Landscape Consultant at Droughtscape, a Glendale-based landscaping company told the I-Team.

Simpson says now is the best time to undergo a lawn transformation, especially in Southern California where temperatures are high, prices are rising and water is scarce.

First-time homeowners and Droughtscape customers Jeff and Amanda Boone wanted to upgrade their lawn while simultaneously helping the environment. They decided drought-tolerant landscaping was the way to go.

“I grew up with grass everywhere,” Amanda said. “But in California, it just didn’t seem really economical or responsible to have that sort of landscaping here.”

She’s right. Los Angeles is in the middle of yet another historic drought, with city mandates limiting water usage to just a couple of days a week, or not at all while temporary repair work progresses.

If you’re considering making the switch from grass to native plants, keep in mind a full yard transformation can be pricey. The Boones saved for more than a year and say they spent more than $20,000 on their front yard transformation.

However, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LAWDP) is trying to address that upfront cost for homeowners. The utility is offering rebates of up to $15,000 for homeowners who switch out all or part of their grass to reduce water usage.

While rehauling a whole lawn may sound like a headache to some, Jeff Boone called the whole process “straightforward.”

“I say absolutely do it. You get to save money, you save time. You really set it and forget it,” he said.

As for those without a green thumb, Simpson says they need not worry about accidentally killing their new plants.

“It’s incredibly durable,” he said. “Most of these plants you can kind of kick and stomp and they’ll honestly come shooting back up.”

The Boones put in their new lawn six months ago, and are already seeing growth.

“I love looking out the front window in the mornings,” Jeff told the I-Team. “It’s a lot of fun to kind of see it bloom and the flowers that come in.”